Ooki DAO
Ooki DAO misses lawsuit response deadline, default judgment on the cards
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has begun the process of getting a default judgment in its case against Ooki DAO after the latter missed the deadline to respond to the lawsuit. According to a Jan. 11 court filing, the regulator has requested the court for an “entry of default” against the decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), stating it had missed the deadline to “answer or otherwise defend” as instructed by the summons. If approved, the entry of default will establish Ooki DAO has failed to plead or defend itself in court and will no longer be able to answer or respond to the suit. An “entry of default” is the first step in the process of gaining a default judgment — a ruling handed down by the court when the defe...
Judge orders CFTC to serve Ooki DAO founders with lawsuit
A United States federal judge has ordered the Commodities Future Trading Commission (CFTC) to serve its lawsuit to the two original founders of the Ooki decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). On Dec. 12, District Judge William Orrick ordered the U.S. regulator to serve Tom Bean and Kyle Kistner, the founders of the decentralized trading platform bZeroX which was the predecessor to Ooki DAO. Bean and Kistner had already settled charges with the CFTC in September relating to illegal commodities offerings on bZeroX, while separate charges were laid against Ooki DAO token holders, which was served using a help chat box as well as a notice on its online forum. However, when Judge Orrick later discovered Bean and Kistner were alsOoki DAO token holders he reconsidered how the CFTC was to se...
CFTC action shows why crypto developers should get ready to leave the US
Considerable anxiety exists in the world of Web3 related to regulation and the legal status of cryptocurrency projects. It’s particularly apparent in the United States, where the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) fueled concerns in September with an announcement that it was imposing a $250,000 fine on a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), Ooki DAO, and its investors. The fine was particularly ominous, considering DAOs are intended to be “regulation proof.” The CFTC said in its statement on the issue that Ooki DAO’s bZeroX protocol offered illegal off-exchange trading of digital assets. The agency took issue with the fact that the founders, Tom Bean and Kyle Kistner, tried to use the existing bZeroX protocol within the DAO to put it beyond the reach of regulators. “By tra...
CFTC can issue summons through Ooki DAO’s help chat box, says judge
The United States Commodities Futures Trading Commission can serve members of the Ooki decentralized autonomous organization, or DAO, with summons through online communications, according to a federal judge. In an Oct. 3 order granting a CFTC motion, U.S. District Judge William Orrick said the commission could provide a copy of its summons and complaint through Ooki DAO’s help chat box as well as a notice on its online forum. The judge said the court’s decision was based on the CFTC effectively serving the Ooki DAO by providing the necessary documents. The CFTC filed a lawsuit against the Ooki DAO on Sept. 22, alleging the organization offered “illegal, off-exchange digital asset trading,” violated registration guidelines and broke provisions of the Bank Secrecy Act. The legal action came ...
Ooki DAO members explore options in response to CFTC lawsuit
Members of the decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) called Ooki DAO have started looking into an appropriate response to the charges filed by the United States Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). On Sept. 22, the CFTC announced a $250,000 penalty and settlement with bZeroX, the creators of the decentralized lending platform bZx protocol which suffered from code exploits in 2020 that led to hundreds of thousands in losses. In addition to this, the CFTC also filed a lawsuit against Ooki DAO over similar alleged violations of digital asset trading laws. In response, Ooki DAO members started to discuss how they should respond to the lawsuit. The DAO identified three potential responses including allocating funds from its treasury toward hiring lawyers for the DAO members. The...
